Apparatus for making infusions of coffee or the like



C. D. KEATON Oct. 13, 1936.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING INFUS'IGNS OF COFFEE OR THE LIKE Original FiledNov. '7, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 00001/1: l unan1ranaaaannnaunnnnadnuaalqafr ATTORNEYS Oct. 13, 1936. c. D. KEATON 2,057,516

APPARATUS FOR MAKING INFUSIONS OF COFFEE OR THE LIKE Original Filed Nov.7, 1953 2 Sheets-Shea?l 2 INVENTOR.

@42 ,46m BY 5 l ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 13, 1936 APPARATUS FOR MAKINGINEUSIONS F COFFEE 0R THE LIKE Clyde D. Keaton, Long Island City, N. Y.,as-

signor, by direct and mesne assignments, of gwn-thirds to Stanley S.Tumbridge, New York,

Original application November-7, 1933, Serial No. 696,954. Divided andthis application October 8, 1935, Serial No. 44,004

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for making infusions ofcoee or the like.

In coee makers of the type wherein there is provided a lower containerand an upper container with an interconnecting passage between thecontainers generally formed by a tubular extension of the uppercontainer, it has been customary to place a ltering device at the upperend of the passage which, if made of cloth,

permitted the entire passage to remain open or if made of imperforateglass formed an orice determined by the opening between the irregularperipheries of glass filter and wall of the container. In eitherinstance there is a single orice, the size of which cannot be varied tochange the rate of flow between the two containers and a lter made forone size of coffee maker cannot be utilized in another.

It is essential, in order to obtain the best brew to prevent the ow ofwater from the lower container to the upper until a predeterminedtemperature has been reached, which in the present coifee makers cannotbe done.

An object of the present invention is the provision of means whereby therate of flow from. one container to the other may be varied. Anotherobject is to prevent ow of the liquid until a predetermined temperaturehas been reached. Another object is the provision of a plurality ofsmall orices between the containers instead of a single large one.

'I'hese and other objects will be readily understood with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lter of Fig. 1;

Fig.l 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the filter of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a view of one of the apertured iiow control elements.

The embodiment as shown in Fig. 1 comprises an upper container 2 and alower container 4, the connection between the containers beinghermetically sealed by a resilient gasket l.

A iilter and variable ow control device In is adapted to be placed in aposition to form an interconnecting passage between the two containers.This device comprises an upper larger tubular section II and a lowersmaller tubular section I6 connected by a lateral portion I8. The underside of the lateral portion I8 forms a' bearing surface I4 adaptedtorest upon the bottom portion 3 of the upper container 2, to form aclosure for the lower container 4. The

upper side of this lateral portion I8 forms a seat 22 which looselysupports one or more flow control elements 24 located in the uppertubular section II of the device. The side wallslof this upper tubularsection Il have a series of openings I2 for establishing communicationbetween the upper and lower containers through the interiors of theupper and lower tubular sections. The ow control elements 24 are madewith a cross section smaller than the cross section of the bore of theupper tubular section II of the lter and each element 24 has an aperture23 therethrough of approximately the same diameter as the passage 20through the lower tubular section I6 of the lter.

There is preferably provided at least one nonapertured element 26 placedat the top and forming with the apertured elements 24 a tubularelongation of passage 20 through the lower tubular section I6 projectingupwardly into the upper tubular section II, the elements beingmaintained in alinement with the passage 20 by the side walls of theupper tubular section II. The contacting surfaces of the elements aremade irregular to form a plurality of small orifices to enable liquid toflow therebetween to vand from the passages through the upper and lowertubular sections. The upper tubular section II is further provided witha screw thread 28 to receive the mating end of the handle piece 30 whichserves as a closure for the top of the tubular section II and alsoenables the filter to be readily inserted or removed from position. Thehandle piece may also serve as the end closure in place of element 26,but for reasons hereinafter explained it is preferable to have aclearance above the flow control elements to allow for a limitedvertical movement thereof. Filter I0 may be removably held in positionin anyv suitable manner. In the embodiment shown this is accomplished byforming projecting lugs 5 in container 2 which cooperate with theangular slots 32 in the side walls of the upper tubular section I I,acting as a bayonet joint to hold same in position and permit readyinsertion or removal of the filter from the holder.

In operation the liquid is placed into the lower container 4 and theground coffee bean in the upper container 2. Upon the application ofheat to the lower container a pressure will begin to build in the spaceA above the water line and upon becoming sufficiently great it willforce the water upwardly through passage 20 in the lower tubular sectionI6 into the upper container. A clearance 38 is allowed above the topflow control element which permits the elements to sepa.- rate uponpressure being applied by the rising liquid, thereby enlarging theorifices and permitting a very rapid flow of liquid into the uppercontainer, the emptying of the lower container until the water fallsbelow the end of the section i6 thus being accomplished withoutsubstantial change in the temperature of the liquid.

In order to prevent the water from being forced upwardly through thelower tubular section I8 before a. predetermined temperature has beenreached a very small -lost motion is provided for between the lugs 5 andthe traverse portions of the slots 32 whereby the tubular member may beraised slightly, thus moving the under side bearing surface il of thelateral portion i8 slightly away from Aits seat on the bottom portion 3of the upper container 2. This will produce a very restricted passage,thus permitting the pressure in the lower container to be temporarilyreleased. As the pressure continues to build up it will overcome thebalancing effect of the opening and then force the water upwardlythroughthe lower tubular section I6. An opening having approximately the samesize as an orifice having al, inch diameter has been found suflicientlylarge to prevent the flow of water in a coffee maker having a 50 ouncecapacity until the temperature thereof has risen to approximately thedesired lower limit at which coffee should be brewed.

As the lower container cools, a vacuum will be produced whereupon ifsurface I4 has been lifted it will reseat and the liquid will be drawnfrom the upper container to the lower one through the minute crevicesbetween the flow control elements 24. 'I'he rate of flow will bedependent upon the number of apertured control elements 2l in the uppertubular section il and due to the minutely small openings between eachelement the passage of coffee grounds is made impossible. Uponcompletion of the downward flow the upper container is removedpermitting the coffee to be served from the lower one. The filter may beremoved and readily cleaned by passing a stream of water therethrough.

The embodiment of Fig. 4 differs from that of Fig. l in that the uppercontainer 2 is provided with a tubular extension 2a as in the coffeemakers now in common use. As the pressure in the lower container doesnot act directly on the filter the holding means may be dispensed with,the lower tubular section I6 being sufficient to keep the filterpositioned, it being understood that the lower tubular section I6 couldbe dispensed with and holding means provided. In this embodiment toprevent the water from being forced upwardly before a predeterminedtemperature has been reached, an orifice u is provided in the tubularextension 2a which if no other escape is provided will enable thepressure to lift the bearing surface Il from im seat to release same. Inthe embodiment illus trated, an orifice Il is also provided in the lowertubular section Il, which will enable the pres sure to be releasedtherethrough without lifting the bearing surface Il from its seat. Theexact locationoftheorificeanditssizewillvarysomewhat but with a coffeemaker holding approximately 50 ounces of water a inch orifice about 3Ainch above the water line will prevent the water from rising until thedesired temperature is obtained. As the pressure increases it willovercome the balancing effect of the orifice whereupon the water will beforced upward through lower tubular section i6 into the upper container2, as in the prior embodiment. If the pressure is sufficiently greatsome water may be forced upwardly through tubular extension 2a whenholding means are not provided but upon the creation of a vacuum in thelower container, the bearing surface I4 will seat and prevent any returnfiow through tubular extension 2a.

The size of the fiow control orifice between the containers may readilybe varied by varying the number of flow control elements in sections Il,this being done by removing the handle piece 30 whereupon the elementsmay be removed and one or more apertured elements removed and replacedby closure elements to decrease the combined orifice size or vice versa.As it may be desirable to make the filter in one piece the elements maybe readily interchanged by standing them on edge and drawing themthrough openings I2, which are slightly wider than the elements. It islikewise possible to control the size of orifice by varying theirregularity of the contacting surfaces or the size of the apertures 23.Likewise by varying the clearance 38 the vertical opening may be varied.Thus the same type filter may be used regardless of the size of thecoffee maker it only being necessary to vary the number of flow controlelements to obtain the required rate of flow from one container to theother.

Preferably, a plurality of flow control elements are used, for in thismanner the filter extends well up into the liquid in the upper containerand due to the arrangement of orifices the flow of water into the uppercontainer will be in substantially horizontal streams carrying thecoffee away from the filter, whereupon the very fine sediment will tendto drop to the bottom of the mass. The openings I2 preferably terminateshort of the bottom of the upper tubular section il thus forming acircumferential shoulder 40 which prevents the ne sediment from beingcarried to the orifices, thus eliminating the possibility of cloggingthe filter. As the liquid is forced downward it will not successivelypass from the coffee grounds at the top of the mass to those at thebottom as has heretofore occurred but there will be a horizontal flowtoward the filter whereby the water passing through one stratum ofcoffee will not pass through another, thus eliminating the passage ofthe entire contents through the finely divided sediment which settles tothe bottom of the mass and assuring a brew free of suspended matter.

It is to be understood that the use of the orifice in tubular extension2a of Fig. 3 for releasing theV pressure may be done on coffee makersother than those wherein the present filter is used and applicant doesnot limit himself to its use in combination with the present filter. Anorifice may likewise be used in lower tubular section IG of Fig. 1 andbearing surface I4 securely held in bottom position. Preferably, theparts are made of ,glass or some other nonmetallic substance with whichthe codec will not react.

'I'he filter per se, shown and described but not claimed herein formsthe subject matter of 1g my copend'ing application led November 1, 1933,Serial No. 696,954, of which application this is a division.

WhatI claim is:

1. In a coffee maker, upper and lower separable containers, and a lterremovable therefrom and comprising a vitreous tubular member havingupper and lower sections, the lower section having a restricted passageextending downwardly into the lower container and a gravity operatedvitreous element loosely disposed within the upper section of thetubular member and normally almost closing said restricted passage, saidupper container having a depending tube surrounding the lower sectionof-the tubular member, the said lower section of the tubular memberhaving a side wall orice above the water line within the lowercontainer.

2. In a coiee maker, upper and lower separable containers, and a lterremovable therefrom and comprising a vitreous tubular member havingupper'- and lower sections, the lower section having a restrictedpassage extending downwardly into the lower container and a gravityoperated vitreous element loosely disposed within the upper section ofthe tubular member and normally almost closing said restricted passage,said upper container having a depending tube surrounding the lowersection of the tubular member and terminating below the water line inthe lower container, the lower section of the tubular member and thedepending tube of the upper container both having side wall orificesabove the water line within said lower container.

CLYDE D. KEATON.

